Personal health records are definitely the more common type of sensitive data we produce and own. Nonetheless we are not really in control of those data. They are spread in folders, binders and drawers at hospitals, homes and physician offices. Most patients are unable to gather all the medical records generated during their lives.
Time to move to electronic health records? Indeed.
But how to cope with the underlying privacy issues?
This news from the very well written Privacy and Security Law Blog highliths how the Mississippi state is now in charge of untangle this problem including how to share electronic health information with authorized entities.
It makes sense that this effort would take place in Mississippi, one of the states hit hard by Hurricane Katrina last year. That disaster highlighted the importance of maintaining personal medical records in an electronic format since many paper records had been lost with the hurricane. Unlike paper records, electronic health records may be stored at many different sites at the same time, and remote from any disaster areas.
The contract is part of the Health Information Security and Privacy Collaboration (HISPC) project. I did some research to see how and when this project originated.
But one of the things that hasn’t changed very much is the way doctors and hospitals do business. The 21st century health care system is using a 19th century paperwork system. Doctors use paper files to keep tracks of their patients. […] See, these old methods of keeping records are real threats to patients and their safety and are incredibly costly. Modern technology hasn’t caught up with a major aspect of health care and we’ve got to change that. We’ve got to change it. (George W. Bush, April 27th 2004)
Yes, it was president George W. Bush to launch this initiative. But after more than two years very little has been accomplished. You can read more here and here. President Bush knew he was talking about a complex matter and he did not promise quick results …
Within 10 years, every American must have a personal electronic medical record. That’s a good goal for the country to achieve.
Ah, ok …
The technology that Clipperz is developing and testing could be very helpful to solve privacy issues like those facing the widespread deployment and adoption of EHRs. If you are interested and want to know more, do not hesitate to drop me an email.
(image from California Physician)
